<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

In response to Dave Westheimer's two posts on distilled spirits. Thank
you for your informational response to my posting on flavorings in
spirits/vinegar.

Now, I ask you to refer to Gluten-Free Living, November/December 1999.
An article on natural and artificial flavorings is on the front page of
the newsletter. Ann Whelan spends a great deal of time researching her
information through reliable resources. You might find this article is
interesting and supportive of the use of natural and artificial
flavorings. The only area where these flavorings definitely need to be
viewed with caution, is in processed meats.

I will take the word of a noted grain chemist, Dr. Don Kasarda (and the
whole enlightened rest of the celiac world) regarding the use of
distilled spirits and vinegars. They have been using these products for
a very long time and do not seem to be suffering any ill effects. If you
had attended the Intl. Symposium (Maybe you did?) I think you would
better understand that the rest of the world is living in the hear and
now. By the way, you will find Kentucky Bourbon in other parts of the
world, not just the US, so don't tell me that their bourbon is probably
different in the rest of the world. Bourbon is a product made in
Kentucky. If it's not made in Kentucky, it cannot be called bourbon!

While you quote ATF regulations, I can assure you as a lifelong resident
of Kentucky, that bourbons are distilled and nothing is added after
distillation. Bourbon and so far as I know other spirits, derive their
flavor from distillation and aging, not flavorings. If flavorings are
part of the product, they are added before distillation then aged in
barrels for the required number of years before bottling.

Unlike the food processing industry, the bourbon industry as well as
other distillers depend upon the flavor from batch to batch being
exactly the same. Their reputation is based on this principle. These
recipes & methods have been followed for hundreds of years and they are
as practiced today as they were when the bourbon industry started.

Why do we continue to discount the word of knowledgeable scientists?
When are we going to join the rest of the world in their insightful
practice of the gluten free diet?

Marge Johannemann
Louisville, Kentucky